Document No.9: The Party Attacks Western Democratic Ideals

The headline-grabbing trial of Bo Xilai should not be allowed to divert concern from a forceful attackon the rule of law by the Party leadership that began this spring and became public earlier this month. As articulated in Document No. 9, a memo by senior leaders to Party members, the threat of Western democratic ideals to Communist ideology and to the principle of Party leadership is being taken more seriously than at any time in the recent past. The scripted trial and the new document together suggest that we are unlikely to see any meaningful progress in the reform of legal institutions in the near future.

Reuters

The Jinan Intermediate People’s Court building, where Bo Xilai was tried, is pictured on August 20, 2013.

After the 18th Party Congress late last year, a debate emerged that reflected hopes that the new leadership would favor political reform. The Party’s response came in Document No. 9, secretly issued by the General Office of the CCP Central Committee in April and leaked in August (in Chinese), just before Bo’s trial began. The document announces that “in order to preserve the Party’s grip on power, attention should be paid to the mistaken ways of thinking, positions and actions.” It identifies seven threats in a “fierce” struggle, and the first threat on the list is “[A]dvocating Western Constitutional democracy. Seeking to negate the current leadership and the government system of socialism with Chinese characteristics.”

Advertisement

The document describes the offensive Western ideals as “the separation of three powers, a multiparty system, a system of universal suffrage, independent judiciary, a military belonging to the nation, etc.” It then points to the recent commemoration (without saying by whom) of the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the current Chinese Constitution. It then says those doing the commemorating (presumably liberals) threaten the system by “holding up the banner of ‘defending the constitution’ and ‘governing the country in accordance with the law’ to attack the party leadership because it is above the constitution.” Further, the unnamed enemies of the current system argue that constitutional government and democracy are “the only way out,” the document says.

The Constitution has been amended a number of times since 1982 to include such ideals as protection of private property and “governing the nation in accordance with law.” While the Constitution expresses lofty ideals, they are robust on paper but not in reality. According to Chinese law, the document cannot serve as the basis for legal claims involving alleged violations of law or the Constitution by government agencies. In Chinese doctrine and practice, the Party is supreme.

The clash of conflicting principles has emerged in recent scholarly debate, in which some liberal scholars are alleged to have advocated “implementation of the constitution and the law” rather than Party leadership. Document No.9 goes further, charging that the advocates of constitutionalism seek to “change the flag and bring to China the model of the Western political system.” The Party’s response to this perceived threat has been to censor offending articles, detain journalists, and harass lawyers.

Rogier Creemer, an Oxford scholar, summarized an article in the Party’s theoretical journal, Seeking Truth, which charges that “the concept of constitutional governance is only suitable for bourgeois capitalism [and] is a covert call for the end of Party leadership and the overthrow of socialism.” The same article reports that the website of an intellectual magazine was closed down after it published an article arguing for an improved implementation of the Constitution. Also, an editorial entitled “The Chinese Dream is the Dream of Constitutionalism” in the Guangzhou newspaper Southern Weekend was removed and replaced by provincial censors.

In late August, Zhang Xuezhong, professor at the East China College of Politics and Law, was banned from teaching because of his vigorous advocacy of constitutionalism.

The Party’s response to strong advocates of constitutionalism has not been limited to censorship. It has also been detaining liberal journalists. A documentary filmmaker was held for five weeks, and a journalist and a Caixin Media reporter were also detained. Another journalist, recently released after being detained, attributed this police conduct to provocation from “the country’s burgeoning civil-society movement.” In this connection, Xu Zhiyong, a well-known campaigner for more government transparency, was first detained in April and formally arrested in mid-August. The arrest, as the WSJ correctly noted, represents an escalation in the government’s efforts to stamp out what is sometimes called a “new citizens movement” and its calls on authorities to protect the constitutional rights of ordinary Chinese. Harassment of his supporters is ongoing.

The Party has also been targeting lawyers. A recent article in the Telegraph states that the security forces have been encouraged not only to arrest all government critics but also to harass and in some cases assault their lawyers. The article adds that in July, at least 44 lawyers “were obstructed, detained or beaten up while trying to represent their clients.”

Apart from suppressing advocacy of constitutionalism, other implications of Document No. 9 and its implementation seem clear. The Bo Xilai trial, regardless of the outcome, gives convincing proof of the Party-state’s continuing intention to control the procedure and outcome of any criminal or civil proceeding that it deems to have political significance. This includes reporting on legal matters on the Internet, illustrated by the prosecution’s use of Weibo to disseminate carefully edited transcripts of each day’s proceedings during the trial. Taken together, the trial and the campaign against constitutionalism suggest that meaningful reform of legal institutions will continue to be postponed, and that if anything the Party is intent on asserting its control in this arena.

Expert Insight

New rules on labor negotiations in southern China offer a potential solution to the country's growing problem with labor unrest while at the same time illustrating the difficulty the Communist Party faces in effectively addressing workers’ grievances.

For much of the last half-century, changing China through economic reform seemed to make far better sense than transforming the country through political revolution. Xi Jinping is trying to flip that on its head.

About China Real Time Report

China Real Time Report is a vital resource for an expanding global community trying to keep up with a country changing minute by minute. The site offers quick insight and sharp analysis from the wide network of Dow Jones reporters across Greater China, including Dow Jones Newswires’ specialists and The Wall Street Journal’s award-winning team. It also draws on the insights of commentators close to the hot topic of the day in law, policy, economics and culture. Its editors can be reached at chinarealtime@wsj.com.